Collecting Preferences

[KROW]

This idea was fumbling around in my head so I thought I'd share it with you all.

In the interest of collecting comic books, what is your approach? Do you pick up the single issues only, pick up the singles then the trades, go for the tie-ins, get the trades only, only pick up one-shots, go for it all and blow your finances, what?

As for myself, I do the singles and the trades with a dash of tie-in pick-up thrown in occasionally.

So, folks, what's your funnybook poison?

[Roseangelo]

With the exception of TMNT, where I buy everything, anything else I'm interested in I'll only buy the TPBs. It costs less and it takes up less space. Space is really the biggest factor, though.

[gobo]

I buy all books involving the TMNT, Usagi Yojimbo and The Army of Darkness. When a TPB comes along, I then reduce the space required to keep the collection of stories by selling or just giving them to people who are genuinely interested.

[Time Mistress]

I do single issues because I'm very impatient to get my favorites each month and most of the stuff I collect is from independant publishers (Transformers, TMNT, Highlander) so who knows if they'll ever be collected in trades at all half the time. Though I would prefer to have trades because they hold up better on they shelf and are more fun to read a full story all in one sitting. I'm trying to switch to trades on my Marvel stuff though. And on most titles it seems to be working (though I'm still tempted to pick up Cable and Deadpool when Cable is heavily featured). Not sure I'm going to do the same for Green Arrow (at least not til after the wedding and tie ins are done) but I will wait for the trades on Melter's JLA run and Gail Simone's upcoming Wonder Woman run.

Trades don't always cost less. A four part story will be about $12 single issues but the trade will be about $15 or a 6 part story at $16 single issues will be about $18-$20 for the trade. My comic store also gives me 10% off the comics I subscribe to as well so that makes the singles even a little bit cheaper. Then again you don't have to pay for bags and boards if you go for trades. But the hardcovers always come out before the softcover trades and who wants to pay $5-$10 more just for a hardback? Then again if it's been a long agonizing wait for the next volume to come out it can be tempting. So there are definately pros and cons to both.

[Scandia]

For manga I buy the graphic novels. Few manga are released as comic book issues nowadays, but back in the early 2000s I was collecting the Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight individual issues. Never again. Graphic novels are much easier.

For TMNT, mainly individual issues, since they are easier to find on Ebay. But I do have a collected book of Mirage 1 numbers 4-6, since that's what this individual auctioneer had.

[Anarky]

I prefer my comic books in single issues, mainly because it's way easier to get them over here. TPBs are usually gone within a day, where I can just order my comics and have them put aside.

And I have these really cool boxes you can stack and while they're not particularly pretty to look at, they do make for great archiving.

[OA]

Like Rose, I try to get everything TMNT related, but when it comes to Marvel, TPB's are the only way I go...

[Cascadia]

I do single issues because I'm very impatient to get my favorites each month and most of the stuff I collect is from independant publishers (Transformers, TMNT, Highlander) so who knows if they'll ever be collected in trades at all half the time.

Trades don't always cost less. A four part story will be about $12 single issues but the trade will be about $15 or a 6 part story at $16 single issues will be about $18-$20 for the trade. My comic store also gives me 10% off the comics I subscribe to as well so that makes the singles even a little bit cheaper. Then again you don't have to pay for bags and boards if you go for trades. But the hardcovers always come out before the softcover trades and who wants to pay $5-$10 more just for a hardback? Then again if it's been a long agonizing wait for the next volume to come out it can be tempting. So there are definately pros and cons to both.

You and I have similar interests...TMNT & Transformers. In terms of my comics, I have mostly single issues and some TPB, which are not cheap. But they have several issues in one book. This is good when you have trouble finding certain issues. When I go in, sometimes I trade my Archie TMNT comics for new ones. My local comic book store does this with only a few customers.